As AARP The Magazine's photo squad and writer get situated, chilled bottles of champagne come uncorked. Cucumber martinis are poured. The actors clink to long life, happiness and continued prosperity.

At one point Douglas, 69, and still drawing raves for his portrayal this year of Liberace in HBO's Behind the Candelabra, leads an impromptu sing-along of "My Girl." So what that it's barely 5 p.m. on a Tuesday? "When you get to this stage, you celebrate — period," says Freeman, 76, with that elegant baritone. "Doesn't matter if it's morning or night. Friend hands you a glass, you look him in the eye and say, 'Cheers.'"

Even for these Hollywood titans, hanging out together is clearly a special deal. Somehow, despite hundreds of individual movie, television and theater credits, they had never worked with one another until now. "What are the odds?" says Kline, the baby of the group at 65. "Michael, Morgan, Bobby …" They all call 70-year-old De Niro "Bobby." "We're not talking about one-hit sensations here."